Feelings
by TheBrokenQuill
Summary: Fluff alert!Gray's feelings about Gray and Claire's relationship. Read! :D


**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing but the plot.**

**A/N: Eh, fluffy stuff. A lot of _italics_, since most of the story is Gray's flashback. Please read if you can stand fluff.**

**Okay I realised I forgot to put in italics D: This proves how absentminded I am. Thank you to Flaming Black Skull for spotting it! "**

Feelings

Without touching her hair, I knew that it'd feel warm and soft. Her head was resting on my lap, and her gentle breathing was in time with the rush of the waves lapping at the sandy beach. I was awake. I couldn't sleep for pure joy. The moon seemed to reflect my happiness; it was radiating a ethereal glow not unlike the sunrise in the morning. I looked down at her, and touched her cheek, which was slightly flushed with red. To me, she looked like a sleeping angel. An angel that made me feel that my life was worth living for. As I looked at her, I was reminded of the day we met, and all the significant events that marked the start of my new life.

"_What exactly is wrong with my work?! What don't you like about it? Everything I do seems substandard to you!"_

"_The answer, you insolent child, lies in you!" _

_I was having another quarrel with my grandfather. This time he was biting my head off, because my work wasn't good enough for him. When I was at the climax of the quarrel, the door opened and the bell tinkled. I thought it was morbidly cheerful. _

_I jerked my head sharply towards the door. A petite girl was standing at the entrance, looking bewildered. What was she doing here? I was annoyed that someone was interrupting my quarrel with my grandfather, and my temper got the better of me._

"_If you've nothing to do here, you can jolly well get the hell out of-" I started to say angrily._

"_Gray! How dare you speak to a customer like that! Apologise to her now!" My grandfather cut in furiously. He turned towards the girl and said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry. That's just my grandson Gray. He's always like that; don't mind him," I turned towards the girl, and saw a flash of spirit in her eyes. I apologised reluctantly. "Fine…I'm sorry, okay?" The girl's slight frown curved upward gently into a smile. If she were a bird, her feathers would be settling down slowly. "Apology accepted," she replied. I was a little taken aback; her voice sounded so sweet. Like marzipan, or my favourite dish ever, baked corn. _

_My grandfather, obviously still pissed by me, shooed me out saying, "Go on, Gray. Take the girl on a tour of Mineral Town. And while you're at it, pass this tool to Mary. Go! Go on!" My grandfather literally pushed us out of the shop. _

_We walked in silence for a few minutes, until I said, a little awkwardly, "Um..uh..sorry about just now. My grandfather is always mad at me, everything I do seems substandard to him…"_

_The girl replied quietly, "You just have to practise more…"_

_I was kind of shocked. This was about the only practical advice I had ever gotten from anyone after a spat with my grandfather. Mostly, my friends would tell me to leave my grandfather to cool down, and such. I racked my brain for words to say. Think, Gray, think! You're going to sound like a total dork! "Uh, I'm Gray. What about you?" She replied simply, "Claire. I took over the farm down the lane.". I couldn't find anything to say, so we just walked in silence. I gave her a once over, and saw that she was smiling gently. She was taking in all the nature surrounding Mineral Town. Suddenly, she tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Look at that spider…it works so hard to make a web, but sometimes people just accidentally destroy the web it makes. But it always works harder at making the new web…you see, if a spider can work hard at something, I believe you can, too," She smiled a beatific smile and walked on ahead. I smiled a little, something I hadn't done in a long time. I looked at her from behind, and I noticed her shoulder length blonde hair swishing about in the wind. I walked a little faster to keep up with her, and before we knew it, we reached the library. _

"_Uh… Claire. We've reached the library. I gotta pass something to Mary, d'you want to come in?" I said. "Sure," Claire replied with a cheerful grin. _

_We entered the library, and I saw Mary narrowing her eyes, as if saying, "Who is this?". However, she plastered on a fake smile and said, "Hi, Gray! It's a little too early to come to the library, don't you think? Oh, and who's this?" _

_I was going to have a hard time explaining to Mary that Claire was only an acquaintance. She may not look it, but Mary is kind of…possessive when it comes to me. I wonder why? _

"_Uh…Mary, this is Claire. Claire, this is Mary. Um." _

"_Pleased to meet you, Mary," said Claire. She gave Mary a cheerful grin. _

"_Pleased to meet you too! This is the library. There are many useful books here, maybe you'd like to read some of them next time?" Mary said. "Sure," said Claire. I passed Mary the completed tool and bade her goodbye. After that, I continued showing Claire around town. She didn't talk much, except for the occasional hello and goodbye. At the end of the day, she returned to her farm, and I, to the room at the inn in which I stayed._

_I couldn't sleep the whole night. I kept thinking about Claire. When I finally drifted off to sleep, it was so that the next day could come faster and I could see her again._

_We became good friends over the next few months. Sometimes, on my day off, we'd go mining for ores in the afternoon. In winter, with so much time and nothing to do, we'd go fishing. I enjoyed every minute I spent with her; we hiked up Mother's Hill, soaked in the hot springs, collected flowers and harvest her crops. I became closer to her, and everyday, she'd come into the shop and hand me a fresh egg. My heart would flutter every morning she came in. It was a new feeling I had never experienced before, and hey, I kind of liked it. I had never felt that way with Mary before, and whenever I saw Claire talking to other guys, I would feel a pang of jealousy. Why was I having these feelings? _

_However, not everything was a bed of roses, as expected. Something shocking happened, around mid-summer. _

_It was a day that I would never forget. The day when my best friend told me something surprising. My best friend, Cliff, telling me that he liked Claire too. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from him. Just because…just because Claire helped him open his heart, he thought that she was the right girl for him! I was furious. We ended up quarreling over this. When we were quarreling, Claire arrived, holding a small package of food. When she stepped into the room, Cliff shouted, "Claire, who do you like better? Gray, or me?"_

_The tension in the room increased. Claire stammered out a reply, saying, "I…I…I like both of you…but I really can't choose…please don't ask me!"_

_She promptly turned on her heels and ran out of the inn, leaving the package of food there. I stormed to my bed and decided to not talk to Cliff ever again. Well, at least until I cooled down. _

_After that incident, Claire became quieter. She didn't smile as much, and when she did smile, it didn't really reach her eyes._

_She shrugged off my concerns, saying that it was pure stress. _

_I didn't entirely believe her, but hey, I had more things on my mind. Like Mary. She got moody whenever I talked about Claire. One day, I stopped visiting her library, and we just drifted apart. It was a breakup, at least to me. We used to be an item, but now I had moved on to Claire, who made me feel refreshed and happy, and who now was oddly detached from me and the rest of the town. I was afraid. Afraid that I would lose the one I loved the most. I had to tell her my feelings about her, and fast. _

_The opportunity came during the annual Fireworks Festival. Claire was sitting by herself at the pier, kicking her legs in the cool seawater and taking in the beautiful fireworks. I walked towards her quietly, and sat down beside her. She gave a start and said, "Gray! I thought you were with Saibara?" I blushed and stuttered out a reply, "Uh..um..I have something I need to tell you…" Claire smiled, a sign that she was prepared to listen._

_I took a deep breath and said, "Claire…I…I love you. Will you be mine?" After she didn't reply for awhile, the balloon of hope in me deflated. "Um…it's okay if you don't want to…" I muttered. _

_To my surprise, she kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "I would be yours and so much more…"_

And together we shared a love, right here on this very beach on which we were sitting now…

…and her hand fell out of my grasp. I clasped her small hand in mine, and she woke up. She smiled the same beatific smile on the first day we met, and before she could say another word, I whispered, "Thank you,"

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**How was it? If it's good I'll add on Mary and Cliff's chapters. If the feedback is negative then this will be a oneshot. :P**


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